tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2323383105577553414.post3105586944667031399..comments2024-02-24T00:25:39.415-08:00Comments on Examined Worlds: Star Trek as Regulative Ideal: Reflections on the 50th AnniversaryEthanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13490888839784651097noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2323383105577553414.post-29971112783604918822016-09-09T09:04:07.564-07:002016-09-09T09:04:07.564-07:00That's cool that you watched the first episode...That's cool that you watched the first episode! I watched "The Man Trap" last night to celebrate. I agree that it wasn't a terribly good episode, but it was the beginning of something good.<br /><br />I do also agree that Star Trek is really good TV, but wouldn't be that great by the standards of science fiction literature. In many cases, though, I think it's a gateway to SF literature, or at least it was in my case.<br /><br />The situation with scientific literacy is complex. I think, in addition to a problem with basic knowledge, a deeper problem is that people often don't understand how science works or how to think about scientific results. There's also a general distrust of institutions and experts at the root of some of it.<br /><br />Anyway, thanks for your comment!Ethanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13490888839784651097noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2323383105577553414.post-67016646623668088432016-09-09T08:00:25.686-07:002016-09-09T08:00:25.686-07:00I was one of the people who watched that first epi...I was one of the people who watched that first episode in 1966. I was an SF fan before Star Trek. A MONSTER Episode! I was really disappointed. Fortunately things got better. I started reading science fiction in 1961 and by the time Trek aired I had read more SF stories than there were to be TOS episodes. One of those stories was A Fall of Moondust by Arthur C. Clarke.<br /><br />Although Star Trek is great by the standards of television it is not so great by the standards of science fiction literature. Our arguing over global warming is an effect of the failure of our so called educational system to promote scientific knowledge.<br /><br />Not long ago I listened to a high school teacher talk about a wall 9 kilometers tall. How can a teacher confuse meters with kilometers 40+ years after the Moon landing?psikeyhackrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05863561692831557949noreply@blogger.com